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Friday, March 2, 2018

Twee's dental

So last week we took Twee back to Maine to have a dental at my previous vet. I like my previous vet and trust him - no small feat for someone with my history - and with her history, I wanted to feel comfortable.

I was sure that they had done a dental on her before, but according to their records, they didn't. We did pre-anesthetic blood work and everything looked good so we went ahead with the procedure.

Twee had quite a bit of tartar buildup and her breath smelled and her eyes were watering really bad so it seemed like a dental was really important. I discussed Twee with the vet on duty - which unfortunately was not the vet I like. I totally understand why vet clinics do this, but I so wish that they would understand that if I am driving two hours to see the vet, that I'd like to see the vet. *sigh*

Anyway. she seemed nice and competent and she kept me in the loop at every step. I received a call when the blood work came back okay, and another call when she was about to go into surgery.

Unfortunately, I received another call when she was done. She said she did the procedure instead of a tech to try to get it done faster because of her history and everything went well and no extractions were necessary, but after they extubated her, she stopped breathing. They reacted quickly and as soon as they opened her mouth to put a tube back down her throat to help her breathe she started breathing again. She was without oxygen for a very short period of time. I thanked her for letting me know and told her she was free to do what was necessary. The vet said she would like to watch her for a while and that was okay with us because we had appointments to get to.

The vet called back a little while later. She said that she was worried because Twee didn't care about things that were being done to her (which is totally Twee, as long as you don't smell like a dog she will love you no matter what) until she started 'messing around' on her back end. I am not sure what that entailed because I didn't ask because the vet said that she was still purring and head-butting the staff. Yup, that's my clueless girl.

When we went to pick her up, she was still worn out from everything going on. We packed her up and headed home. I just wanted to hold her, but I knew that she would NOT sit still on the ride so I did the next best thing which was put her carrier on my lap and I would occasionally reach in and rub her ear. She was fairly silent for about an hour and I could tell almost immediately when she 'woke up' because she became annoyed at being in the carrier and wanted out. I had the feeling she needed to go pee, but she didn't run right to the box when we got home, so I don't know if that was the case.

She got home, ate a full and healthy dinner, we had a little play time, and she is doing just fine. She gave the CatMan a bit of a scare the next morning when she went to sleep in the closet and he couldn't find her, but she was happy and active when I found her.

The vet recommends she never go under anesthesia again. I've known this. I really want to find her old records from her first issues and see what medications might match up to see what we should stay away from, but I haven't done it yet. I usually think of it late at night and I'm tired and heading to bed. One of these days I'll do it. It will be interesting to see if there is a medication that matches up.

I am not looking forward to the idea of owning a fourteen-year-old cat who has had three dentals already never being able to have another one. I'm trying to be good about brushing her teeth, but we all know how that goes. Chances are she is going to start avoiding me (so far, *knock wood* she isn't) and if that is the case I am just going to have to let this go and deal with the consequences.

She is dealing with an allergic reaction of some sort as she has lost all the fur in front of one ear from rubbing it. It is starting to improve, so I am not sure why what happened happened. I'm hoping it just clears up and I don't have to deal with it.

21 comments:

I'm sending purrs to Twee and hope her allergic reaction goes away completely. That is rough, having a kitty who shouldn't be under anesthesia. It's hard for humans to remember to brush our teeth - I know my human gets a little neglectful in this area, even though I'm really good with it (the toothpaste tastes like treats!).

oh geez.....poor you and Twee and the Catman. how scary. glad she is doing better now and back to "normal". (oh - and mom has been known to grab her phone in the middle of the night and email herself reminders - haha)

How scary! You have too many cat worries right now, yikes. Someone needs to send kittens as a distraction. Possum had his dental yesterday: one extraction and no other issues. He must be very high on painkiller right now as he's being ridiculously affectionate to me. Like he used to be before he discovered my husband.

I'm very glad the vet kept you updated during the entire process. It's quite a situation to be in. I'm glad she is ok and got through it all safely. As you know, I'm a charter member of the #tweefanclub.

Poor Twee! We hope she's back to her wonderful (if not clueless) self! I've lost track of Bear's dentals - and he's had extractions each time. I've brushed his teeth every day since the first dental/extraction. Genetics!